Crossbar Cross"bar` (-bär`)
noun A transverse bar or piece, as a bar across a door, or as the iron bar or stock which passes through the shank of an anchor to insure its turning fluke down. Russell. Crossbar shot ,
a projectile which folds into a sphere for loading, but on leaving the gun expands to a cross with a quarter ball at the end of each arm; -- used in naval actions for cutting the enemy's rigging.
Crossbarred Cross"barred` (-bärd`)
adjective 1. Secured by, or furnished with, crossbars. Milton. 2. Made or patterned in lines crossing each other; as, crossbarred muslin.
Crossbeak Cross"beak` (-bēk`)
noun (Zoology) Same as Crossbill .
Crossbeam Cross"beam` (-bēm`).
noun 1. (Architecture) A girder. 2. (Nautical) A beam laid across the bitts, to which the cable is fastened when riding at anchor.
Crossbill Cross"bill` (-bĭl`). (Law) A bill brought by a defendant, in an equity or chancery suit, against the plaintiff, respecting the matter in question in that suit. Bouvier. » In criminal practice, cross bills of indictment for assault, in which the prosecutor in once case is the defendant in another, may be tried together.
Crossbill Cross"bill` noun (Zoology) A bird of the genus Loxia , allied to the finches. Their mandibles are strongly curved and cross each other; the crossbeak.
Crossbite Cross"bite` (-bīt`)
noun A deception; a cheat. [ Obsolete]
Crossbite Cross"bite" transitive verb To deceive; to trick; to gull. [ Obsolete]
Crossbones Cross"bones` (-bōnz`)
noun plural A representation of two of the leg bones or arm bones of a skeleton, laid crosswise, often surmounted with a skull, and serving as a symbol of death. Crossbones , scythes, hourglasses, and other lugubrious emblems of mortality.
Hawthorne.
Crossbow Cross"bow` (-bō`)
noun (Archery) A weapon, used in discharging arrows, formed by placing a bow crosswise on a stock.
Crossbower Cross"bow`er noun A crossbowman. [ Obsolete]
Crossbowman Cross"bow`man (-m
a n)
noun One who shoots with a crossbow. See Arbalest .
Crossbred Cross"bred` adjective (Stock Breeding) Produced by mixing distinct breeds; mongrel.
Crossbreed Cross"breed` (-brēd`)
noun 1. A breed or an animal produced from parents of different breeds; a new variety, as of plants, combining the qualities of two parent varieties or stocks. 2. Anything partaking of the natures of two different things; a hybrid.
Crosscut Cross"cut` (-kŭt`)
transitive verb To cut across or through; to intersect.
Crosscut Cross"cut` noun 1. A short cut across; a path shorter than by the high road. 2. (Mining) A level driven across the course of a vein, or across the main workings, as from one gangway to another. Crosscut saw .
(a) A saw, the teeth of which are so set as to adapt it for sawing wood crosswise of the grain rather than lengthwise. (b) A saw managed by two men, one at each end, for cutting large logs crosswise.
Crosse Crosse noun [ French,
crosier , hooked stick.]
The implement with which the ball is thrown and caught in the game of lacrosse.
Crossette Cros·sette" noun [ French, dim. of
crosse . See
Crosier .]
(Architecture) (a) A return in one of the corners of the architrave of a door or window; -- called also ancon , ear , elbow . (b) The shoulder of a joggled keystone.
Crossfish Cross"fish` noun (Zoology) A starfish.
Crossflow Cross"flow` intransitive verb To flow across, or in a contrary direction. "His
crossflowing course."
Milton.
Crossgrained Cross"grained adjective 1. Having the grain or fibers run diagonally, or more or less transversely and irregularly, so as to interfere with splitting or planing. If the stuff proves crossgrained , . . . then you must turn your stuff to plane it the contrary way.
Moxon.
2. Perverse; untractable; contrary. She was none of your crossgrained , termagant, scolding jades.
Arbuthnot.
Crosshatch Cross"hatch` transitive verb To shade by means of crosshatching.
Crosshatching Cross"hatch`ing noun In drawing and line engraving, shading with lines that cross one another at an angle.
Crosshead Cross"head` noun (Machinery) A beam or bar across the head or end of a rod, etc., or a block attached to it and carrying a knuckle pin; as the solid crosspiece running between parallel slides, which receives motion from the piston of a steam engine and imparts it to the connecting rod, which is hinged to the crosshead.
Crossing Cross"ing noun [ See
Cross ,
transitive verb ]
1. The act by which anything is crossed; as, the crossing of the ocean. 2. The act of making the sign of the cross. Bp. Hall. 3. The act of interbreeding; a mixing of breeds. 4. Intersection, as of two paths or roads. 5. A place where anything (as a stream) is crossed; a paved walk across a street. 6. Contradiction; thwarting; obstruction. I do not bear these crossings .
Shak.
Crossjack Cross"jack` noun (Nautical) The lowest square sail, or the lower yard of the mizzenmast.
CRosslegged CRoss"legged` adjective Having the legs crossed.
Crosslet Cross"let (-lEt)
noun [ Dim. of
cross .]
1. A small cross. Spenser. 2. [ Confer Old French
croisel crucible, and
E .
Cresset .]
A crucible. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Crosslet Cross"let adjective (Her.) Crossed again; -- said of a cross the arms of which are crossed. See Cross-crosslet .
Crossly Cross"ly adverb Athwart; adversely; unfortunately; peevishly; fretfully; with ill humor.
Crossness Cross"ness noun The quality or state of being cross; peevishness; fretfulness; ill humor.
Crossopterygian Cros·sop`ter·yg"i·an adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to the Crossopterygii. --
noun One of the Crossopterygii.
Crossopterygii Cros·sop`te·ryg"i·i noun plural [ New Latin , from Greek ......... tassels, a fringe + ..............., dim. of ............ wing, fin.]
(Zoology) An order of ganoid fishes including among living species the bichir ( Polypterus ). See Brachioganoidei .
Crosspatch Cross"patch` noun An ill-natured person. [ Colloq.] "
Crosspatch , draw the latch."
Mother Goose.
Crosspiece Cross"piece` noun 1. A piece of any structure which is fitted or framed crosswise. 2. (Nautical) A bar or timber connecting two knightheads or two bitts.
Crossroad Cross"road` noun A road that crosses another; an obscure road intersecting or avoiding the main road.
Crossrow Cross"row` noun 1. The alphabet; -- called also Christcross-row . And from the crossrow plucks the letter G.
Shak.
2. A row that crosses others.
Crossruff Cross"ruff` noun (Whist) The play in whist where partners trump each a different suit, and lead to each other for that purpose; -- called also seesaw .
Crosstrees Cross"trees` noun plural (Nautical) Pieces of timber at a masthead, to which are attached the upper shrouds. At the head of lower masts in large vessels, they support a semicircular platform called the "top."
Crossway Cross"way` noun See Crossroad .
Crosswise Cross"wise` adverb In the form of a cross; across; transversely. Longfellow.
Crosswort Cross"wort` noun (Botany) A name given to several inconspicuous plants having leaves in whorls of four, as species of Crucianella , Valantia , etc.
Crotalaria Crot`a·la"ri·a noun [ New Latin See
Crotalum .]
(Botany) A genus of leguminous plants; rattlebox. »
Crotalaria juncea furnishes the fiber called
sunn or
Bombay hemp .
Crotaline Crot"a·line adjective [ See
Crotalus .]
(Zoology) Resembling, or pertaining to, the Crotalidae , or Rattlesnake family.
Crotalo Crot"a·lo noun A Turkish musical instrument.
Crotalum Crot"a·lum noun [ Latin , from Greek ............ rattle.]
(Mus.) A kind of castanet used by the Corybantes.
Crotalus Crot"a·lus noun [ New Latin , from Greek ............ rattle.]
(Zoology) A genus of poisonous serpents, including the rattlesnakes.
Crotaphite Crot"a·phite noun [ Greek ............ the side of the forehead.]
(Anat.) The temple or temporal fossa. Also used adjectively.
Crotaphitic Crot`a·phit"ic noun (Anat.) Pertaining to the temple; temporal.
Crotch Crotch noun ;
plural Crotches (-...z). [ Confer
Crotchet ,
Crutch .]
1. The angle formed by the parting of two legs or branches; a fork; the point where a trunk divides; as, the crotch of a tree. 2. (Nautical) A stanchion or post of wood or iron, with two arms for supporting a boom, spare yards, etc.; -- called also crane and crutch . Totten.
Use the search box below if you want to search in Websters only, use the search box at the right to search all of Enyclo.
